Why is La Salle initiating a new drug prevention/intervention program? We care about our students! A few of many reasons:

We desire to provide for the spiritual and healthy well-being of our students and to prepare them responsibly for successful, faithful lives as Catholic adults.

Our students will work in a world where an ever-growing number of employers have drug testing programs.Our students’ ability to pursue meaningful careers is predicated on living drug-free lives.

Using drugs as an adolescent is extremely harmful and detrimental to an individual’s growth and development. The Science and Management of Addictions states: “More than any other age group adolescents are at risk for substance addiction, and more than any other age group they risk permanent intellectual and emotional damage due to the effects of drugs.”

We aim to prevent our students from starting to use drugs by giving them a clear and obvious reason to say “no” at all times.And, should a student make a mistake, we wish to ensure that he is directed to immediate intervention to help him get free and remain free of drugs.

Does La Salle have a drug problem? We know society has a drug problem, and our young men, like students at all private and public schools, are subject to those societal challenges. All of us are also aware of the peer pressures of society on teens and their exposure to drugs outside of school. Presently, La Salle High School incorporates all available best practices, common in high schools, in our ongoing effort to provide our students a drug-free learning environment. But there is a need to do more.

Is drug testing in response to any recent incident? Other Lasallian high schools around the country have implemented similar programs within their respective schools. One school has been doing it for fifteen years. For a few years our school leadership has participated in several discussions with the leaders of those schools, and an incident during last school year which affected the La Salle community provided one more reason to begin a new drug prevention/intervention program which includes drug testing.

Opponents may say this is an invasion of privacy. Our mission is to provide our students every possible means to prepare them to lead successful lives as responsible, faith-driven adults. Drug use is not a responsible behavior for anyone, let alone our students and all teenagers, in general. As a private high school, parents choose to send their sons to La Salle.

Isn’t this the parent’s job? We view our role as a partnership with parents, one with common goals that can be achieved only by working closely together. Our drug prevention/intervention program gives our parents one more tool to help them support their son’s proper behaviors. We do not take the place of parents.

How will you maintain confidentiality? Student-identified samples will be submitted in a chain of custody identifiable only by an arbitrarily assigned number (not a student’s school ID number). Each student’s hair sample and corresponding number will only be accessible by the principal and his administrative assistant. The school’s nurse will only take the hair samples and will not have access to the test results unless the student or his parents wish. The testing lab, Psychemedics, will only know the arbitrarily assigned number associated with the student’s hair sample, not the student’s name. In addition to the student, his parents, the principal, and his administrative assistant, the only other person inside La Salle who will know the results is a mentor chosen by the student.

How will random selection be done? The process will be managed by the principal and will involve a random lottery draw.

What will be tested?Click here to see the link for a chart of what drugs are tested.

Will the test include alcohol? The hair test does not include alcohol for this year. Next year for an additional fee, we will be able to offer parents the option of adding a test for alcohol using the same hair sample.

Can a student get a false positive from the test? No.

What if a student refuses to take the test? The parents/guardians will be contacted and told of the refusal. Should the parents/student still refuse the test, then it will count as a positive test.

What if a student or parent admits to drug use and requests treatment? La Salle wants students who are using drugs to come forth and request help to stop this behavior. La Salle will work with the student and require the student to seek intervention counseling. The student will be tested in approximately 100 days at the parent’s cost, and if the test result is positive, that will be a strike. Note: during the 100-day intervention timeframe, the student is still subject to being drawn to participate in the random routine testing program, and if he tests positive at that time, it will count as a strike.

Will the test detect prescription medications? Prescription drug abuse is something the test will be able to detect. Students will be asked to provide documentation should they be taking prescription medications under a doctor’s care. That is why it is important that students and parents pay close attention and provide clear documentation when students are prescribed medications by their doctor.

What if a parent desires more frequent testing? That can be arranged at additional cost to the parent by contacting the principal.

What if someone says a student is involved in drugs? If someone believes that a student is involved in drugs, that information should be shared to the assistant principal who may work with other professionals as a collaborative team to investigate the accusation. The assistant principal may require a student to be tested who is reasonably suspected of drug involvement. Cost of this test will be covered by the school if the results are negative and by the parents if the results are positive. If the results of this test are positive, the student will be accessed a strike, will be required to obtain intervention counseling, and will be retested in approximately 100 days. If the results of this test are negative, the student remains in the pool of students who are being chosen randomly for testing.

Will you use social media or other public social networking posts as a means to determine if a student needs a drug test? The La Salle High School Handbook has a clear social media policy which includes references to drug use and/or behaviors. A student’s failure to abide by these standards may mean testing and/or other disciplinary consequences. As mentioned in the previous question, if a posting gives suspicion that a student is engaged in drug use, the assistant principal may require the student to take a drug test - the timing of which is independent of the normal random drug-testing program.

Will you use other criteria to make someone take a drug test? The administration always reserves the right to require a student to take a drug test.

Will you publicize who volunteers during the first year? No

Will random sweeps by police drug dogs continue to occur? Yes

What do you expect from the parents? Parents need to remain strong in teaching and enforcing proper behaviors to their sons as they mature from teenagers into adults. Those efforts must include being vigilant and not ignoring any warning signs. We also expect open lines of communications to exist between parents and school to ensure our important partnership.